Secrets & Lies (1996)

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Secrets & Lies 1996 is an art film by today’s standards, meaning definitely not a blockbuster. This is the kind of movie, normally, that only a few buffs see until video time.

Secrets, though, gets a break, via Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, which have also brought veteran British writer-director Mike Leigh from relative obscurity to public notice. Since 1973, he’s been making critically acclaimed realistic movies (Life Is Sweet, Naked) about ordinary, often confused and unattractive, but disarmingly familiar working people.

In this one, an educated, upwardly mobile young black woman in London (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) tracks down her birthmother, a decidedly mixed-up, still unmarried white factory worker. The mom, Cynthia (best-actress nominee Brenda Blethyn), is lonely and depressed. She’s living with another daughter, a rebellious 21-year-old with whom she constantly battles. Cynthia’s brother, Maurice, a successful portrait photographer, feels guilty for neglecting them. But he has problems of his own.

The racial difference produces some marvellous scenes of comic shock and stress. Secrets is not about racism, but about the need for family. Cynthia’s spirit blossoms as she grows into love and friendship with her “new” daughter. As the title suggests, the movie is also about how lack of communication and trust erodes a family’s inner core.

Maurice (played by Timothy Spall) is quiet and inhibited, but his job has given him insight and compassion. His photography sessions are pure delight. As Leigh helps us see it, it’s the human condition revealed in a portrait studio. In his work, Maurice has discovered the means to save his soul. Highly recommended for mature audiences.

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